News & Media

Director's Corner

Last month we formalized a technology partnership with Siemens Canada with the intent to create a global technology hub at the MNI. This partnership strengthens the bonds between the MNI’s brain imaging researchers and experts from Siemens, an industry leader, further developing a relationship that has been growing for over 10 years. By pairing the best minds with the best tools, we will move forward integrating science, technology and communication.

Dr. Albert Maringer, President & CEO of Siemens Canada Ltd., recently observed, “In no other field of technology is the relationship with mankind as intimate as it is in health care, and our long-standing relationship with the MNI demonstrates the benefits of combining innovation and technology.” As an example of this powerful combination, over the years Siemens has helped us develop the research infrastructure in the Brain Imaging Centre (BIC) and among other things provided technical support for our research dedicated MRI scanner. With this seminal technology, scientists from the BIC and across campus have tackled challenging scientific questions and developed a body of research that is well respected and well funded by government granting agencies. We anticipate another opportunity to benefit from expertise in integrated technologies, engineering support and system controls as the BIC grows with the planned 26,000 square foot expansion for the MCBIR initiative. Tapping into such expertise will move us toward our quest for knowledge and goal of taking the most efficient and effective path to growth at the Neuro.

Technical partnerships like this create opportunities for scientific advances and we are looking to expand the horizons of the Neuro with other corporate and university partners. Springing off the Siemens connection, we will be exploring collaborative projects with research centres in Bavaria, where Siemens AG is headquartered. With help from Siemens and both the Bavarian and Quebec governments, these opportunities should lead to advances in neuroscience as well as to technological innovations and applications.

Reaching out to new partners and increasing our impact internationally will enrich us with new talent and new ideas. Not a bad start to the New Year!

Please send any comments about the Director's Corner to David Colman

Funding success

EJLB Foundation award
Dr. Ted Fon was recently awarded a research grant from the Scholars Programme of the EJLB Foundation. The Foundation, established in 1983, funds research related to schizophrenia and mental illness, and provides grants to community mental health support organizations. Dr. Fon, one of three awardees this year, will receive $350,000 over three years for his research program, and joins two previous MNI awardees, Dr. Wayne Sossin in 1995 and Dr. Manuel Castro-Alamancos in 2002, in this honour: In recent years, the Foundation expanded its mandate to include environmental protection and has generously supported both missions.

MNI Timmins and Robb Fellowships
Each year, the MNI awards five postdoctoral fellowships worth $25,000 each. These fellowships, created through endowments, are used to recruit new postdoctoral students to research groups at the MNI or to fund an additional year of training for post docs who are already here. Four Jeanne Timmins-Costello Fellowships support fellows in any MNI research group while the Preston Robb Fellowship is earmarked for an MD who has completed residency and is pursuing advanced training with joint mentorship by a clinician and a research scientist. These fellowship funds allow us to support highly qualified and motivated trainees who contribute significantly to the research productivity of the research groups. Each year, the awardees are of such high caliber that many compete successfully for external fellowship awards which means that the Timmins and Robb fellowships can then be given to other meritorious applicants at the MNI.

This year’s awardees for the Jeanne Timmins-Costello Fellowships are Dr. Brett Kaufman (Shoubridge lab), Dr. Alberto Ramos (Barker lab), Dr. Brigitte Ritter (McPherson lab) and Dr. Mark Schönwiesner (Zatorre lab). The Preston Robb Fellowship will go to Dr. Sanjay Mongia to study with Drs. Sadikot and Collins. Congratulations to these fellows.

Upcoming Lectures

McGill Neurology Conferences (Fridays from 8:30-9:30 am)
January 7 at the Montreal General Hospital
How to modify disease progression in Alzheimer disease
Serge Gauthier, MD, Centre for Studies in Aging, Douglas Hospital

January 14 at the Montreal Neurological Hospital
Imaging in Multiple Sclerosis
Douglas Arnold, MD, Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital

January 21 at the Montreal General Hospital
Diabetes and its ravages on the nervous system
Cory Toth, University of Calgary

January 28 at the Montreal General Hospital
Progress in the Clinical and Biological Understanding of Autism
Éric Fombonne, MD, Psychiatry, Montreal Childrens Hospital, and
Pierre Drapeau, PhD, Centre for Research in Neuroscience, Montreal General Hospital

February 18 at the Montreal Neurological Hospital
Up-date on anticonvulsants
Jeff Jirsch MD, Clinical Fellow, and François Dubeau, MD, Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital

Upcoming events

The MNI Retreat is coming – February 4-6, 2005
This two day meeting combines top-tier scientific presentations by 12 international experts with poster presentations by MNI trainees and students. This off-site session gives our scientists and guests ample time to discuss scientific questions and the newest research results. By developing these professional relationships, we create opportunities for research collaborations and open doors for MNI trainees in their next career steps.

Guitton Symposium The Canadian Physiological Society will host the Daniel Guitton Recognition Symposium at their annual meeting Feb 3-6, 2005 in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Quebec. The symposium is being planned by Dr. Douglas Munoz, Director, Centre for Neuroscience Studies and Professor of Physiology and Psychology, Queens University and Dr. Kathleen Cullen, Vestibular Neurophysiology and Gaze Control Laboratory, Department of Physiology, McGill University. Dr. Munoz did his post doctoral training with Dr. Guitton and continues to investigate sensory-motor transformation in the nervous system by examining visual guidance of saccadic eye movements.

MNI-GSA Poster Day, February 11, 2005
The MNI-GSA will host a poster day to showcase research work carried out by graduate students and post-doctoral fellows in the Graduate Program of Neurological Sciences. Please submit your abstracts to Joyce Chen (joyce.chen@mail.mcgill.ca)

Recent Events - International initiatives

India
Dr. Vijayalakshmi Ravindranath, Director of the National Brain Research Centre, Haryana, India, visited the MNI in December. Acquainted with Drs. David Colman and Alain Beaudet (President, Fonds de recherche en santé du Québec, FRSQ), she expanded her connections with the Quebec/Montreal neuroscience community by meeting with scientists at the MNI; McGill departments of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Chemistry, Engineering, Physics and others; Douglas Hospital Research Centre; Geriatric Institute; Université de Montréal and Université Laval. During her intense multi-day schedule, Dr. Ravindranath identified scientists whose work complements that of researchers at her institute and pledged to facilitate scientific collaborations with these teams. Known for her ability to make things happen, Dr. Ravindranath anticipates sending personnel from her laboratory to initiate a stem cell project here and is engaged with us in planning visits by other Indian scientists to the MNI. Dr. Ravindranath, in agreeing to serve on the MNI’s Advisory Board, joins other prominent scientists from around the world in this new role. Her recent visit to Montreal was graciously co-sponsored by the FRSQ.

Bavaria
Dr. Gunnar Brink, Coordinator of Scientific and Technological Cooperation for the government of Bavaria, joined colleagues from the Bavarian and Quebec governments at a recent visit to the MNI. Dr. Brink, trained in nano-science, met Drs. Barker, Evans, Preussner and Zatorre for an introduction to neuro-imaging and molecular biological research here and will assist us in strengthening research collaborations with scientists based in Bavaria. In the new year, we will explore opportunities to use funds available from the Bavarian government for international research teams to investigate the applicability of new technologies.

Congratulations to…

Dr. Dan Guitton who was elected to a three year term as one of three faculty representatives on the McGill Board of Governors. Dr. Guitton had previously served on the Board but his first term was abbreviated by a reduction in the size of the Board. Dr. Guitton, a strong advocate for science at the University, finds a new passion in this role.

Condolences to …..

We extend deepest sympathy to Mrs. Meredith Webster and her family on the death of Mr. Lorne Webster. Mrs. Webster, a member of the MNI Advisory Board, is a great friend to the Neuro and joined her husband in his mission of philanthropy to hospitals and other institutions in Montreal. A skilled and enthusiastic athlete, Mr. Webster was a founding director of the Montreal Expos and, as a prominent leader in the business community, influenced the future and fortunes of many corporations. Mr. Webster’s generous and joyful spirit will be missed by his vast network of colleagues and friends but his impact on the city and on our daily lives will be long lasting.

Director - David R. Colman, PhD
Senior Management - Mark Angle, MD; Tom Gevas; Marilyn Kaplow; Elizabeth Kofron, PhD; Patricia O'Connor; Catherine Rowe
MNI Bulletin Editors: Elizabeth Kofron, PhD & Sandra McPherson, PhD

Please send any items for the MNI Bulletin to Sandra McPherson or Beth Kofron.